Refrigerated display case for flowers and the like

ABSTRACT

The invention is an open-top, refrigerated display case which may be mounted on a cart, booth or the like. The display case includes a plurality of elongated bins placed side by side in a stepped array from an upper bin at the rear of the case to a blower bin at the front of the case. The bins are thus advantageously arranged to provide a best possible display of merchandise within them. At the same time, the stepped arrangement permits a slow flow of refrigerated air as from back of the case, from the upper bin, and forwardly into the lower bin with the cool air cascading over merchandise especially within the lower bin.

Appl. No.: 127,497

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,730,603

Looms May 1, 1973 [54] REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE FOR 2,741,101 4/1956Trulaske ..3i2/27s x FLOWERS AND THE LIKE 3,459,628 8/1969 Dixon et a1...312/214 X [75] Inventor: Peter Looms, Denver, C010. Primary ExaminerJameS C- Mitchell [73] Assignee: Flowers a la Karte, lnc., Denver,Attorney-Van Valkenburgh and Lowe 22 Filed: Mar. 24, 1971 [57] ABSTRACTThe invention is an open-top, refrigerated display case which may bemounted on a cart, booth or the like. The display case includes aplurality of elongated bins placed side by side in a stepped array froman upper bin at the rear of the case to a blower bin at the front of thecase. The bins are thus advantageously arranged to provide a bestpossible display of merchandise within them. At the same time, thestepped arrangement permits a slow flow of refrigerated air as from backof the case, from the upper bin, and forwardly into the lower bin withthe cool air cascading over merchandise especially within the lower bin.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED MAY 1 [973 SHEET 1 [IF 2 Fig. 3

INVENTOR. Looms Pe ferfia via (d ATTORNEYS PATENTEDWRY 118W 3,730,603

' SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR.

Pefe'r Looms By WZ A T TORNEYS REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE FOR FLOWERS ANDTHE LIKE This invention relates to refrigerated display cases of thetype which are open at the top to render the merchandise being displayedtherein readily availabl for selection by customers.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedopen-top refrigerated display case having a plurality of compartments orbins in a stepped arrangement, to present a greater and more effectiveviewing area for the display of the merchandise within the case.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in an open-toprefrigerated display case, a plurality of stepped bins which permit thecold air generated in an upper bin to fall to a lower bin and in doingso, to cascade over, and to more effectively cool the merchandise beingdisplayed in the lower bin.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a stepped, open-toprefrigerated display case, a simple, but effective cooling arrangementwhich will keep the merchandise within the display case cooled to atemperature which is a few degrees above the freezing point with anabsolute minimum of power consumption, permitting a comparatively largedisplay case to be operated by connecting it to an ordinary ll-voltservice outlet having a limited amperage capacity.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedopen-top, stepped refrigerated display case which can properly coolperishable and wiltable merchandise such as flowers, and at the sametime, permit the merchandise, the flowers, to be displayed in anespecially attractive manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedrefrigerated display case for merchandise such as flowers, which may beprovided as a neat, attractive and compact unit, such as a cart, capableof being quickly moved to selected locations where people congregate andwhere the sales potential for the flowers is best.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a novel and improvedrefrigerated display case which is of a simple, rugged construction,economical and reliable in its operation, and requires practically nomaintenance.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, as hereinafter appear, mypresent invention comprises certain constructions, combinations andarrangements of parts and elements as herein described, defined in theappended claims, and illustrated in preferred embodiment in theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a wheel-mounted cart which contains anopen-top, refrigerated display case having two display compartments orbins in a stepped arrangement according to the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional elevational view of the unit shown atFIG. 1, to indicate the construction of the cart, the arrangement of therefrigerated bins and the location of the refrigeration machinery withinthe cart.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional detail of a portion I of the viewshown at FIG. 2, but on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 4 is an isometric, transverse, sectional view of a portion of theunit shown at FIGS. 1 and 2, but on an enlarged scale and with arrowsindicating the flow of cold air from the upper bin to the lower binwhich will cascade upon flowers or other merchandise in the lower bin.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view,

similar to a portion of the view at FIG. 2 but illustrating a modifiedconstruction where the stepped display case uses three compartments orbins.

Flowers, as a commodity, are most effectively sold at locations wherethe customer may view a display of flowers with no previous intention ofmaking a purchase, but will, upon the spur of the moment, decide that hewants a bouquet. Accordingly, it is very important that the vendor be atthe right location and provide an excellent display of his merchandise,for the better the display, the more flowers he will sell. Flowers,however, are perishable merchandise and will quickly wilt when the airtemperature where they are kept is above 45 F. On the other hand, if theflowers are kept in a refrigerated environment, where the airtemperature is maintained above freezing, 32 F., but below 45 F., theflowers will remain crisp and fresh for a surprisingly long period oftime.

Accordingly, a successful flower vendor must provide some means forkeeping his flowers refrigerated until they are sold. This need haseffectively limited the sale of flowers to regular flower shops havingspecial cooling rooms where the flowers are kept. Such rooms do not lendthemselves to attractive displays, and they also prevent the flowersfrom being displayed at the best possible selling locations. Flowers arean ideal commodity for sale in carts and in small booths which may belocated at airports, train stations, fairs, hotels and other placeswhere people congregate, but at such locations the problem of keepingthe flowers fresh is always present.

The present invention was conceived and developed with the aboveconsiderations in view and the invention comprises, in essence arefrigerated display case for flowers and similar merchandise, having atleast two elongated compartments or bins in a side by side, downwardlystepped arrangement facing the customer. A refrigeration system coolsthe walls of the bins and a slow movement of cold air is directed fromthe rearward upper bin, and forwardly therefrom to cascade downwardlyinto the forward, lower bin. A transparent shield surrounds the case toretain this cold air, but this cold air will be dissipated from the caseby falling over the shield and by customers who stir up the air whenthey reach for flowers and bouquets within the bins. A surprisinglysmall capacity refrigerating unit will be required to keep these binscool, and at a desired temperature, where only a slow movement of coldair is used for a circulation action. The entire assembly can becontained in a booth or cart as will now be described.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, FIGS. 1 and 2 depict theinvention, the stepped refrigerated display case D, as being mountedupon a counter C, a boxlike unit, which, in turn, is mounted upon wheelsto form a cart. The cart is decorated in any manner, not shown, whichwill help sell flowers, and in the unit illustrated, the front of thedisplay case D is at a side of the cart directly above and behind afront wall 20 of the counter C. The left sidewall 21 and right sidewall22 of the counter are the front and rear ends of the cart while the backwall 23 of the counter is the other side of the cart.

The counter C includes a bottom 24 and an elongated top 25 which islocated immediately behind and above the display case D. Refrigerationmachinery R is located within this counter C underneath the displaycase, and a workers storage compartment 26 is located at the back of theunit underneath the top 25.

To convert this counter C into a cart, a pair of decorative,large-diameter, spoked wheels 27 are mounted at the front and back walls20 and 23 near the left sidewall 21 of thecounter, that is, near thefront end of the cart, and caster wheels 28 are mounted at the undersideof the bottom 24 near the right sidewall 22 of the box, that is, nearthe rear end of the cart. A push handle 29 is also provided at thisright sidewall, the rear of the cart, and other items may be added tothe unit to facilitate efficient use of the unit.

7 The refrigerated display case D is formed as aplurality of elongated,open-top, box-like compartments or bins which extend across the unit,from one sidewall to the other. These bins are placed in a stepped, sideby side arrangement. The bins are in front of and below the elongatedtop 25 which is at the back of the counter. Thus, in the steppedarrangement, the top 25 constitutes the top level whereon articles whichdo not need refrigeration may be placed. The first refrigerated bin 30is immediately in'front of the table 25, but its rim 31 is set below thetable at an intermediate level in the but it was found that for binswhich are about 12 inches wide and 16 inches deep, each level drop couldbe in the range of from 4 to 8 inches without impairing the function ofthe unit.

The first bin 30, at the. intermediate level of the display case D,includes a back wall 34 which extends downwardly from the front of thetop 25 and to the floor 35 of the bin. A front wall 36 and end walls 37extend from the rim level 31 of the bin 30, downwardly to the floor 35to complete the unit.

The second bin 32, at the lower level, includes its back wall 36' whichis at the opposite side of the front wall 36 of the first bin 30 and isan intermediate wall 36 36 between the two. A portion of this back wall36 extends below the first bin and to the floor 38 of the bin 32. Afront wall 39 and opposing end walls 40 extend from the rim level 33 ofthe bin 31 downwardly to the floor 38 thereof. It is to be noted thatthe end walls 37 of the bin 30 and end walls 40 of the bin 32 are at thesidewalls 2] and 22 of the counter C while the front wall 39 of the bin32 is at the front wall 20 of the counter C, as illustrated in thedrawing.

The proportions of the bins 30 and 32 may be established to bestaccommodate the merchandise which is to 'be displayed in them. Forflowers, each bin may be approximately 12 inches wide-and 16 inches deepand may extend the full length of thecounter, say for example, 5 to 6feet. Flowers are kept in these bins in bunches or bouquets which areplaced in basket-like containers K as illustrated at FIG. 4. Thecontainers K permit the. flowers to be effectively cooled withoutcontacting and lying against the walls of the refrigerated bins, thisbeing desirable to avoid a danger of freezing parts of the flowers.

The refrigeration system for cooling the display case is conventionaland it includes a refrigerator R, cooling coils in the walls of the binsas hereinafter described, and a temperature control thermostat T in theupper bin. The refrigerator R is preferably a standard, electricallyoperated, air-cooled unit and it is mounted upon the floor 24 within thecounter below the storage compartment and display case, as shown at FIG.2. The refrigerator R includes a compressor 41, a condenser 42,connective lines 43 to the cooling coils, a line to the thermostatcontrol T which is notshown, and other conventional auxiliary equipmentwhich is also not shown. An air duct 44 including a fan within it, isassociated with the condenser and this duct discharges from agrill-covered opening 45 in the left sidewall 21 of the counter.

It .was discovered that a or %-horsepower refrigerator could be used forthe display case D when it is proportioned as heretofore described, thatis, as a case having bins approximately 1 foot wide, 16 inches deep and5 6 feet long and used for cooling flowers and the like. Thus, the powerto drive the system may be provided from any conventional llO-voltelectrical wall outlet and an electrical cord 46 is extended from therefrigerator for such connection. This is an obvious advantage overconventional, circulation-type, opentop refrigerating display cases of acomparable size since they require more powerful refrigerators which, inturn, require special wiring outlets that would be inconvenient toinstall at many of the locations where the display case can be used.

The refrigeration lines 43 extend from the compressor and condenser tocoils 47 in selected'walls of the bins. Preferably, a coil 47a islocated in the back wall 34 of the upper bin30. A coil 47b is located inthe intermediate wall 36 36 and a coil 470 is located in the front wall39 of the lower bin 32. These coils are connected to the lines 43 in anyconventional. manner, preferably in series with the coil 47a being thefirst in line, the coil 47b being next in sequence and the coil 47cbeing last and being connected with the return refrigeration lines 43.

The manner in which the bins are constructed facilitates theinstallation of these coils because each bin has an inner lining 48 ofsheet metal or like material whereto the coils may be affixed as bysolder or otherwise. Accordingly, this inner liner will be quicklycooled by the flow of heat from the liner to' the coils. The bins alsoinclude an insulation layer 49 beneath the liners to prevent heat flowfrom the exterior of the bins to the coil which would result ininefficient operation of the unit.

FIG. 3 illustrates a typical mode of constructing the walls to providethe inner metal lining 48 and the insulating layer 49 beneath thelining. The insulating layer 49 is preferably a closed-pore, polystyrenefoam or polyurethane foam several inches thick. Such foam may be foamedin place about thelining after the bins are formed and the refrigerationcoils are installed upon the lining. Preferably, however, the insulationis provided as layers of the desired size thickness for the severalsections of the bins. The layers are prepared by cutting or pressingsuitable slots 50 to receive the coils 48. Once fitted,'the insulatinglayer is then affixed to the lining as with a glue or mastic. Asillustrated at FIG. 3, the outer surface of the insulating layer of thefront wall 39 will rest against and be reinforced by the front wall ofthe counter. Other walls and reinforcing members are provided to holdthe insulation and the bins in place such as the struts 51 shown at FIG. 2. To complete forming the bins, cap strips 52 may be used to closethe ends of the insulation layers 48 at the rims 31 and 33.

To complete the refrigerated display case, transparent shields areextended about the bins to better retain the cold air generated withinthe bins. A side shield 53 is mounted at each side of the display case Dto upstand from the sides 21 and 22, and these shields are step-formedto set upon the edge rims 31 and 33 of the bins. Each side shieldextends upwardly from the edge rims to a level which is preferably thesame as the level of the top 25. A transparent front shield 54 isextended across the front of the counter to upstand above the front wall20. This front shield sets upon the front reach of the lower rim 33 anddoes not need to extend upwardly as high as the side shields 52, butpreferably it will extend to a height about the same as the height ofthe upper bin rim 31. Accordingly, to provide a neat appearing unit, theupper edge corners 55 of the side shields 53, adjacent to the frontshield, are rounded to turn the upper edge downwardly to terminate atthe same level as that of the front shield. These shields are preferablyof a transparent plastic material, for example an acrylic, such asPlexiglas. The shields are held by small posts 56 upstanding from thecorners and from the center of the lower bin rim 33.

The operation of the unit is manifest from the forego' ing description.When the refrigeration machinery is turned on, the walls of the bins and32 are cooled and this cooling action is accompanied by a slow flow ofcool air from, the upper bin over the intermediate wall 36 36 and intothe lower bin. The cool air generated on the upper portion of the backwall of the upper refrigerator bin 30 will initiate the forward movementof cold air to effectively cool flowers placed in the upper bin wherethe flowers are above the level of the rim 31. The cold air then flowsover the rim 31, since it is retained at each side by the side shields53, to drop into the lower bin 32 and in dropping into this lower bin,the cool air will cascade upon the flowers placed therein as in themanner suggested by the arrows at FIG. 4. When the cool air has filledthe bins, it will form above the bin level to a level somewhat above thetop of the front shield 54 before spilling out of the display case D.The thermostat T, however, which is positioned at a level somewhat abovethe rim 3], as at the back wall 34, will prevent the refrigeratingapparatus from operating whenever the bin is filled with cold air to aselected temperature within the desired range. Whenever the bed of coldair within and above the bins is disturbed as by a breeze, or by aperson removing a bouquet from a bin, the air will flow forwardly in thedisplay case to expose the thermostat T to warmer air and'therefrigerating apparatus will then tion contemplates a plurality ofrefrigerated bins and FIG. 5 exemplifies this in a somewhat diagrammaticmanner: a refrigerated display case D in a counter C which is formed infront of a counter top 25' by providing bins 60, 61 and 62 in a sequencewith the bin being below the counter top 25, the bin 61 being below thebin 60 and the bin 62 being below the bin 61 to complete the displaycase D. The outer wall of the bin 62 is then at the front wall 20' ofthe counter 0'. Aside from using three bins, the several componentsforming the display case D are identical to the components heretoforedescribed.

I have now described my invention in considerable detail. However, it isobvious that others skilled in the art can build and devise alternateand equivalent constructions which are nevertheless within the spiritand scope of my invention. Hence, I desire that my protection belimited, not by the constructions illustrated and described, but only bythe proper scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

l. A stepped, refrigerated display case comprising:

A. at least two open bins separated by an intermediate wall, with eachbin being generally rectangular in plan, each with a front wall, a backwall, end walls and a bottom, said bins being arranged one in front ofthe other, with the front bin being below the rear bin and with thefront wall of each bin defining the rim of the bin;

. said intermediate wall forms the front wall of the rear bin and backwall of the front bin whereby said intermediate wall extends upwardlyfrom the rim level of the lower front bin to the rim level of the upper,rear bin;

c. the back wall of said rear bin extends upwardly from the rim level ofthe upper rear bin; and,

. a refrigerating means in at least the back wall of at least the rearbin to cool air within the bin and to coolair at the back wall thereofabove the rim level of the rear bin, whereby to permit cooled air playedin this lower bin and to flow into the lower.

bin.

2. In the organization defined in claim 1, including:

shield means upstanding from each end wall of the upper bin to guidecooled air formed therein over the rim of the intermediate wall and intothe lower bin.

3. In the organization defined in claim 2, wherein each shield meansupstands from end walls of both the upper and lower bins.

4. In the organization defined in claim 3, including:

a shield means upstanding from the rim of the front wall of the lowerfront bin and having its top edge at approximately the level of the rimof the intermediate wall at the upper rear bin.

5. In the organization defined in claim 4, wherein said shield means istransparent.

6. In the organization defined in claim 1, wherein the refrigeratingmeans includes coils extending in the back wall of the upper bin, in theintermediate wall and in the front wall of the lower bin.

7. In the organization defined in claim 1, including a counter, andwherein said display case is incorporated into the front section of acounter and with a counter top above and behind the rear wall of therear bin.

1. A stepped, refrigerated display case comprising: A. at least two openbins separated by an intermediate wall, with each bin being generallyrectangular in plan, each with a front wall, a back wall, end walls anda bottom, said bins being arranged one in front of the other, with thefront bin being below the rear bin and with the front wall of each bindefining the rim of the bin; b. said intermediate wall forms the frontwall of the rear bin and back wall of the front bin whereby saidintermediate wall extends upwardly from the rim level of the lower frontbin to the rim level of the upper, rear bin; c. the back wall of saidrear bin extends upwardly from the rim level of the upper reAr bin; and,d. a refrigerating means in at least the back wall of at least the rearbin to cool air within the bin and to cool air at the back wall thereofabove the rim level of the rear bin, whereby to permit cooled air tofill the bin and to flow downwardly and upon an item displayed in thisupper bin and to permit the cool air to flow over the front wall rim ofthis upper bin, to spill downwardly upon an item displayed in this lowerbin and to flow into the lower bin.
 2. In the organization defined inclaim 1, including: shield means upstanding from each end wall of theupper bin to guide cooled air formed therein over the rim of theintermediate wall and into the lower bin.
 3. In the organization definedin claim 2, wherein each shield means upstands from end walls of boththe upper and lower bins.
 4. In the organization defined in claim 3,including: a shield means upstanding from the rim of the front wall ofthe lower front bin and having its top edge at approximately the levelof the rim of the intermediate wall at the upper rear bin.
 5. In theorganization defined in claim 4, wherein said shield means istransparent.
 6. In the organization defined in claim 1, wherein therefrigerating means includes coils extending in the back wall of theupper bin, in the intermediate wall and in the front wall of the lowerbin.
 7. In the organization defined in claim 1, including a counter, andwherein said display case is incorporated into the front section of acounter and with a counter top above and behind the rear wall of therear bin.